Using bleach as a thrush preventative

[HicksteadFan]

I know a water/bleach mix can be used to treat thrush. I’ve never had thrush despite my horses living fetlock to knee deep in mud during the whole summer. But when the frogs get a little mushy I put some betadine solution on them. Can the bleach solution be used the same way or is it too strong for that?

I’m not very well informed about bleach. Is it toxic at all? Not just to humans or horses but dogs and cats? I board my horse so I get one locker of space and that’s it. Will the bleach smell and either stink up the tack room or my saddle pads and blankets? I don’t know anyone who uses bleach (on horses or clothes or whatever else bleach is used on) so sorry if these questions seem simple.

Hoping to save a little money any way I can.

[beowulf]

Yes, it is toxic. I would not use it on an animal, ever.

I totally use bleach on my white saddle pads though. But my horses are not sensitive. YMMV.

[saultgirl]

I don’t use anything as a thrush preventative. If you are trying to save money, start by cutting out random unnecessary treatment.

[Lady_Eboshi]

It’s been used by old-timer horsemen for decades and does no harm at all. Very definitely a low-cost alternative to commercial thrush preparations and also works great on ringworm and your own athlete’s foot. Using it on skin, yours or an animal’s, cut it 50/50 with water so it doesn’t burn. On a hoof, full-strength is fine as the surface of the hoof is not sensitive tissue. Before anyone says it is, ever watch a farrier hot-shoeing, burning the shoe into the hoof with a big cloud of smoke? Riiiiiiiiight.

Many people today REALLY overthink a lot of stuff.

That said, you use bleach, peroxide, Kopertox, Thrush-Buster etc. to KILL thrush, the fungal incursion that you see or especially smell. The PREVENTIVE is to pick your horse’s feet often, re-shoe regularly if shod, and try to insure that the horse has clean, dry bedding if stalled. If feet are inspected regularly and you use the treatment of choice sparingly at the FIRST whiff of thrush, it’s a non-problem very quickly.

[DJohn]

[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;7964417]
It’s been used by old-timer horsemen for decades and does no harm at all. Very definitely a low-cost alternative to commercial thrush preparations and also works great on ringworm and your own athlete’s foot. [/QUOTE]

Yepp, you can use it to dry out the thrush a bit. No less toxic than anything else used to kill thrush (especially coppertox, that stuff is poison!).

[LLee]

[QUOTE=That said, you use bleach, peroxide, Kopertox, Thrush-Buster etc. to KILL thrush, the fungal incursion that you see or especially smell. The PREVENTIVE is to pick your horse’s feet often, re-shoe regularly if shod, and try to insure that the horse has clean, dry bedding if stalled. If feet are inspected regularly and you use the treatment of choice sparingly at the FIRST whiff of thrush, it’s a non-problem very quickly. ;)[/QUOTE]

You forgot to mention white vinegar. Works great on any kind of fungus. Kills athlete’s foot quick. Cheap, too :winkgrin:

[beowulf]

But bleach disintegrates fibers. I wouldn’t want to do that to a hoof.

[Texarkana]

We horse owners put a lot of terrible crap on horses’ feet that we shouldn’t. Bleach falls into that category.

[Frizzle]

There are so many better treatments that do zero harm to healthy tissue, it just baffles me that people keep using stuff like bleach. Why would you want to damage healthy tissue? There are a whole bunch of better options that are still quite aftordable: White Lightning, Oxine, ACV, No Thrush, chlorhexadine, etc. Heck, I can get an entire gallon of concentrated chlorhexadine at the feed store for $16.99.

[TheJenners]

Had a couple farrier recommend it. Been using it prophylactically for a while, no ill effects. I mix 1:3 or there about.

And yes, I use it on myself as well.

[gumshoe]

I had a surgical wound that became infected. I had to have a visiting nurse come every day to “re-pack” the wound. With BLEACH.

Although I wouldn’t use it as a thrush prevention. No need to. If your horse hasn’t had thrush yet, why bother?

[chicamux]

From the web site of Dr. David Ramey:

http://www.doctorramey.com/one-thing-tackroom-shouldnt-without/

[HicksteadFan]

Alright. I guess if people use it on skin, themselves and in wounds its not that bad.

To clear up confusion: when I say I use it as a preventative measure I don’t mean I put it on every day like preventing bug bites with fly spray. I mean when its damp out and I notice the frog getting soft, I may put something on it for 2 or three days just to dry it up a bit.

Thanks for the replys

[Lady_Eboshi]

[QUOTE=Frizzle;7964504]
There are so many better treatments that do zero harm to healthy tissue, it just baffles me that people keep using stuff like bleach. Why would you want to damage healthy tissue? There are a whole bunch of better options that are still quite aftordable: White Lightning, Oxine, ACV, No Thrush, chlorhexadine, etc. Heck, I can get an entire gallon of concentrated chlorhexadine at the feed store for $16.99.[/QUOTE]

And I can get an entire GALLON of concentrated BLEACH for $1.25.

[Bicoastal]

Chemicals

[QUOTE=beowulf;7964434]
But bleach disintegrates fibers. I wouldn’t want to do that to a hoof.[/QUOTE]

And some people put a capful of bleach into their horses’ water troughs. I learned that anti-algae tip here on COTH. Obviously their horses don’t kick the (bleached) bucket.

I know the current mentality is to reduce the use of chemicals & plastic, our impact on the environment, our carbon footprint, etc. I am in that trend, too! I just figure bleach has been around for so long and used so much we would know if it was damaging.

At the end of the day, isn’t everything a base or acid chemical? I’m open to being educated, if I’m mistaken. I’m more a vinegar girl, these environmentally-friendly days.

[Texarkana]

Bleach isn’t toxic to the environment per se: it’s very dilutely in most municipalities’ drinking water.

But putting a 10% bleach solution on your horse’s feet is not healthy for the living tissue.

People forget that the area that gets thrush, you know, the frog, is non-keratinized tissue. It’s more similar to you or your horse’s skin than it is to the rest of the hoof. When it gets an infection (thrush), it is not much different than an infection on your own skin.

Anyone who handles dilute bleach solutions a lot with bare hands (guilty) knows that if you get a little on you every now and then, there is no serious damage. Your skin looks a little lighter and feels dry, but then sloughs off. But if you are getting it on your hands on a regular basis, it continues to make your hands drier and drier. They may even crack and bleed. If you had a sore or wound on your hand, it wouldn’t heal well-- conversely, the constant bleach exposure would continue to dry out the delicate, healing tissue and make the wound close more slowly.

The same thing happens to your horse’s frog. Not to mention the fact that too much bleach could dry out the solid hoof, just like it does the tissue, causing more negative side effects.

A little bit of anything is not harmful once in a blue moon. Sure, the bleach will help clean the hoof and dessicate any minor funky areas if you use it sparingly. But if you’re using it on any sort of regular interval, it’s going to do more harm than good in the long run. Especially if you have an active infection in the area.

[AmarachAcres]

I spray Listerine on their frogs once a week and apple cider vinegar on their frogs once a week. No issues so far. Maybe it just makes me feel better but eh, it’s working on both counts.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Bleach is good. Just be careful not to splash it on anything you do not want bleached out.

[enjoytheride]

Isn’t White Lightening basically vinegar and bleach?

[Frizzle]

[QUOTE=enjoytheride;7965940]
Isn’t White Lightening basically vinegar and bleach?[/QUOTE]

No, it is not. Chlorine dioxide is not bleach.